Phil Jones could hardly have realised at the time, but he emulated Roy Keane
and Eric Cantona by attempting to inject some life into his shell-shocked
Blackburn Rovers team-mates as they spiralled towards a 7-1 defeat at
Manchester United in November.

Many 18 year-olds would have been broken by such an emphatic defeat, but Jones’s reaction, his cajoling and encouragement of team-mates as a red tide engulfed them, did not go unnoticed by Sir Alex Ferguson and earned him his summer move to Old Trafford.

“When Blackburn lost the fifth goal, he was out giving them [team-mates] all stick,” Ferguson said. “He was just one of those players you couldn’t miss when one comes along in the game. We made enquiries in November and were hoping to get him in January but we were prepared to wait. He is an absolutely fantastic young player.”

Against Tottenham, Jones justified his manager’s £16.5million summer investment with a commanding display in front of Fabio Capello, which potentially set the clock ticking on Rio Ferdinand’s United and England career.

Little wonder that Ferguson was so determined to fend off rival interest from each of last season’s Premier League top six for a player he believes will provide the bedrock of United’s defence for the next decade.

The United manager has identified his future leaders before having seen them make their mark against his team.

He made a similar note the first time he watched Keane who, as a young midfielder with Nottingham Forest, in Ferguson’s words, “absolutely cemented” Bryan Robson with a bone-crunching tackle on the then-England captain within minutes of the kick-off during a game at Old Trafford.

The seminal move for Cantona in Nov 1992 was a result of the Frenchman’s performance for Leeds against former United defensive totems Gary Pallister and Steve Bruce during a fixture early in the 1992-93 season.

Jones, making his full debut for United against Spurs, has years ahead of him before he can even contemplate joining Keane and Cantona in Old Trafford’s Hall of Fame, but Ferguson’s belief in the England Under-21 defender suggests that he expects him to become a central figure at United for the next decade and beyond.

Ferguson has told Jones, equally comfortable in midfield or defence, that he expects him to perform at centre-half at United. The manager believes he has recruited the club’s long-term successor to Ferdinand by luring the Lancastrian from Blackburn.

At 19, Jones was the youngest member of a United line-up against Spurs that had an average age of only 23, yet he performed with the composure of Ferdinand – sidelined through injury once again – as he broke up attacks and carried the ball forward with buccaneering style.

A first-half foul on Gareth Bale, unpunished by referee Lee Probert, highlighted the naivety that still lingers in Jones’s game, but that was a rare lapse from a player who is expected to be selected by Capello for next month’s Euro 2012 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Wales.

With Ferdinand’s fitness record placing a question mark over his ability to participate in Poland and Ukraine next summer, Jones could yet dislodge the 32 year-old from the picture with both club and country.